Ever wonder where those colorful – but cryptic – idioms come from? 

• “It’s raining cats and dogs.”
• “She’s under the weather.”
• “He kicked the bucket.”

According to Merriam-Webster, idiom is “an expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of its separate words but that has a separate meaning of its own.” 

My sister Karen, who also is a writer and word buff, forwarded a fun and informative article to me: “Idioms of the World.”

Written by London-based Matt Lindley and illustrated by Marcus Oakley, they explain the meanings of 10 wild and wacky idioms from around the world:

1. Into the mouth of a wolf (Italian)
2. Not my circus, not my monkey (Polish)
3. To have a wide face (Japanese)
4. To have the midday demon (French)
5. To feed the donkey spongecake (Portuguese)
6. A cat’s jump (German)
7. To give someone pumpkins (Spanish)
8. To ride as a hare (Russian)
9. To let a frog out of your mouth (Finnish)
10. To have a stick in your ear (Danish)

Curious? Click to read Marcus and Matt’s article: “Idioms of the World.”